This article clarifies Luke's portrayal of both John and Jesus as Elijah-like figures by considering how Malachi 3 was interpreted by Ben Sira, 4QMessianic Apocalypse (4Q521) and the LXX. These ancient readers shared with Luke a concern to interpret the prediction of Elijah's return in the context of Malachi 3 even though they reached diverse conclusions. Luke's solution to the puzzle of Malachi 3 involved distinguishing between the Elijah of 1–2 Kings, who is associated with Jesus, and the Elijah of Malachi 3, who is consistently identified with John, the forerunner of the messianic ‘Lord’.

While presupposing the widely accepted conclusion that the Gospel of John, like the other Gospels, is generically a bios, this article examines more distinctive features of this Gospel which it shares with ancient historiography: precise topography, precise chronology, selectivity, narrative asides, and claims to eyewitness testimony. In these respects the Gospel of John would have appeared to contemporary readers more like historiography than the Synoptics would. The problem of historiographical representation of speeches is solved differently by John from the way the Synoptics deal with it, but John's method of composing discourses and dialogues conforms to good historiographical practice as well as does that of the Synoptics.

Acts 2.36 has caused problems for biblical interpreters both ancient and modern. This article examines the various readings and different hermeneutical strategies in the history of interpretation in order to situate the verse within its requisite interpretive context, Luke–Acts. Subsequently, an interpretation of Acts 2.36 is offered in which the verse is seen to express, rather than contradict, Lukan christology.

This study of Romans 9–11 focuses on three prominent questions that Paul asks in relation to God's faithfulness to Israel: 1) Is God unjust in reference to his election?; 2) Why does God find fault, for who has resisted his will? and 3) Has God rejected his people? The article examines Paul's answers to these questions in light of an intertextual study related to the catchwords the apostle develops from the ancient Jewish sources that he echoes.

The nearly three decades since the publication of E. P. Sanders's work on Paul and Judaism have witnessed a spate of new proposals for reading Gal 3.10, one of the most difficult and contested passages in Paul's letters. For some, the ‘traditional’ interpretation is still preferred, though the ‘exile/restoration’ reading has gained some momentum recently. The following article will critique both of these readings, proposing a new interpretation of this passage, one that regards Paul as citing Deut 27.26 in continuity with its meaning in its narrative setting and that finds an interpretive grid in the logic he unfolds in Gal 2.15–21.

The instructions to slaves and masters in the Colossian Haustafel have long raised questions about their concrete meaning for their intended audience. Drawing principally on recent research on the Roman family, but also on other texts, inscriptions and imagery, this article seeks to show that the implications of the household code for the sexual treatment of slaves must have varied widely. Important factors included the believing or non-believing nature of each household and the complexity of familial arrangements generally. Ultimately, Colossians appears implicitly to recognise a degree of honour in the case of slaves, a view that may sometimes have led to greater respect for familial/sexual boundaries than was otherwise usual.

Hebrews is addressed to a community whose waning commitment may lead to a complete abandonment of their Christian identity. In response, the author crafts an imaginative and powerful exhortation that centers on Jesus' identity as the Son of God. The author first dramatizes the Son's exaltation, emphasizing the Father's declaration of Jesus' sonship, the Son's reciprocal confession of the Fatherhood of God, and the Son's conferral of family membership upon the recipients. The recipients are then called upon to participate in this pattern of mutual familial confession in two strategic hortatory passages: 4.14–16 and 10.19–25. These two exhortations to confess Jesus as the Son of God are intended to bring a halt to their wavering commitment and solidify their identity as siblings of the Son.

The Acts of Thecla develop a narrative Christian counter-world to their pagan society. In this context erotic motifs are adapted and re-interpreted. It is into this framework that the description of the Apostle Paul is to be placed. In his human appearance he proves to be the antitype of the erotic lover such as depicted in the stereotypes of Greco-Roman novels. When Thecla, however, feels irresistibly attracted to him, it is his function as the mediator of Christ that attracts. Thus, Thecla's conversion to Christian faith is presented as a special act of falling in love with the Gospel.